Alex Wong/Getty Images(BALTIMORE) -- The president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will be stepping down at the end of the year, the civil rights organization announced on Sunday.

In a press release, the NAACP said Benjamin Todd Jealous will remain in his role until Dec. 31. His resignation letter was accepted this week.

“We thank President Jealous for his time leading the Association,” Roslyn M. Brock, chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors, said in the release. “Under his leadership, the NAACP has built a highly competent staff that will carry our mission forward and meet the civil rights challenges of the 21st century."

Jealous, who has led the organization since 2008, said he is "proud to leave the Association financially sound, sustainable, focused, and more powerful than ever."

"Beginning next year, I look forward to pursuing opportunities in academia to train the next generation of leaders and, of course, spending a lot more time with my young family," he added.